All posts filed under: Biscuits

Hand me a rose-flavoured dessert over a bouquet of roses any day. I’m a sucker for rose-flavoured everything. It all started back when I was around seven years old when my dad would take our family to our favourite Indian restaurants. Even before looking at the menu I’d know what I wanted to drink – classic Falooda. A sweet rose milkshake with basil seeds, grass jelly and vermicelli noodles. Some may argue that it’s a dessert and not a drink you’d have with a full three-course meal but that never stopped me. My dad would laugh and always made sure I got one, even ensuring it came with cocktail umbrellas for added pizzazz. I still love an ice cold falooda to this day but I can no longer get away with ordering one with my dinner. These days I love to add rose to lots of dishes from sweet to savoury, but mostly sweet. I’ve got a tonne of rose recipes on the blog, some of my favourites being Strawberry Cheesecake Falooda, Eggless Rose Custard …

At first, I thought this might be it; the moment I’d officially lost the plot. I was ready to bring two of my favourite things closer than they’ve ever been. Turns out I haven’t gone insane. It worked. So, I united chevdo and chocolate chip cookies and their baby turned out to be a goddamn champion. Imagine this – the perfect balance of sweet, salty, spicy, crunchy and chewy in one little disc of happiness. The edges are slightly crisp, while the middle is soft, chewy and studded with chocolate chips, peanuts, potato chips, corn flakes, puffed rice and crispy lentils. If you love salted caramel or chocolate with chilli or sea salt, you’re going to go doolally for these egg-free cookies. The moment when you sit down to masala chai and ‘naasto’ (snacks) is the instant your troubles and stresses fizzle away. The soothing, milky masala tea erases the furrows in your brow and the crunchy, savoury, sweet and spicy snacks fill you with the feeling of home comforts. It’s a simple pursuit that inadvertently becomes …

I’ll never forget my year five primary school teacher. She was the kind of person you should have aspired to be like one day, over and above Ginger Spice who was probably the most popular choice at that age. Along with all the fair qualities and graces you’d expect from somebody who had mastered the art of being patient with a bunch of little cretins, this particular teacher was a master of bribery. And said bribery always involved sweets. Chocolate Limes to be precise. She had a stash of these retro classics stowed away in her top drawer for when you answered a question correctly, or were simply doing something that was out of your comfort zone. Even though it was a single sweet you probably wouldn’t have given a toss about if your nan had offered one up at the weekend, it was the status, power and sense of achievement that came with that limey shell and chocolate middle. It made you feel like you had truly taken a step forward that day. Don’t even get me started on …

I remember the days my brother and I would raid the biscuit selection box, grabbing our favourites before the other one could get their paws on them. In our house, it was always the jammy dodgers, bourbons and custard creams that went first. I first spotted this recipe on The Boy Who Bakes, Edd Kimber’s website whilst doing some last-minute baking for a party. Short, delicate butter biscuits with a hint of vanilla sandwiched with that sweet custard flavour I’ve loved since I was a kid. To say Edd’s recipe is heavenly would be an understatement. For me, milk and cookies has always evoked memories of ice cold rose milk and shortbread in the summer sun at my aunt’s house. My brother would complain and demand chocolate Nesquik, meaning I got to guzzle down his share of bright-pink rose milk too. Winner. Combining the two flavours of my childhood was a no brainer – adding a hint of lemon thyme was a last-minute addition which worked a treat. These make lovely gifts for Christmas (they …

4 days agoby sanjanamodhaThis Melt-in-the-Mouth Burnt Aubergine and Spinach Curry is my most popular recipe to date. It’s the one I get the most emails, comments and messages about and it lights up my heart to read about how much you love it. I love it too. I live and breathe Gujarati food. Simple vegetarian dishes we’d eat every night when I was young are what have inspired my love of cooking today. Oroh was one of those dishes mum would cook as a midweek dinner after our evening swim at our local leisure centre. Oroh is simply a name for smoky aubergine

4 days agoby sanjanamodhaSimple three lentil daal (urad daal, moong daal and tuver daal) with lots of ginger, chillies, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Tomatoes and salt to balance out the flavours, Gujarati style. These lentils are widely available in all good supermarkets and Indian grocers. Served with roasted butternut squash rotli. I added mashed roasted squash, toasted cumin and a handful of other spices to my usual chapatti flour and kneaded to make a smooth dough. They were then rolled and cooked on a steel plate until golden. SWIPE LEFT FOR THE DAAL INGREDIENTS . . . #daal#indianfood#foodblogger#indian#butternutsquash

5 days agoby sanjanamodhaMost of you will already know that the only reason I get out of bed on a non-work day is to eat a great breakfast. My favourites include Masala Poori with Potato Curry and Sweet Semolina, as well as Stuffed Paratha or Thepla and Chai. When I’m seeking to start my day with something a little sweeter, I always look to my sweet spice tin. It’s a box dedicated to the spices I use less often in making savoury dishes and one of the best things in my kitchen. Inside, you’ll find whole cardamom, red saffron threads in a little

5 days agoby sanjanamodhaSprouted Mung Bean Breakfast Noodles are my go-to healthy Indian breakfast As much as I live for stuffed paratha, these spiced noodles pack the punch I crave on a chilly morning, without all the ghee. The stir-fried vermicelli noodles are tossed with sprouted mung beans, crackled mustard seeds, curry leaves, chillies and turmeric for a flavoursome breakfast number you’ll cook again and again. Transform it into a filling lunch or dinner with the addition of pan-fried tofu. SWIPE LEFT FOR THE INGREDIENTS. Recipe is on the blog . . . #f52grams#heresmyfood#vegansofig#huffposttaste#breakfast#vegansofig#veganrecipes#noodles#vegannoodles#thecookfeed